Recaps

Naruto and Minato questioned Black Zetsu about the Three-Tails and learned how Obito controlled the beast and Yagura before the Three-Tails secretly broke free and attacked him. Black Zetsu explained that Obito then sought a way to eliminate the threat, turning his attention to Danzo and Shisui Uchiha.

• Naruto identified himself to Black Zetsu, who panicked at first because he mistook him for Minato.
• Minato ordered Black Zetsu to explain what happened with the Three-Tails, and Black Zetsu cooperated.
• Black Zetsu said Obito had controlled Yagura and the Three-Tails with genjutsu, but the Three-Tails eventually broke free and hid it.
• The Three-Tails attacked Obito, who escaped despite sustaining injuries because his body had Hashirama cells.
• Obito decided he needed help to deal with the Three-Tails and considered involving Danzo, but discovered Shisui Uchiha as another person he could exploit.

Black Zetsu explained how Obito used Shisui’s strength to gain influence in the Akatsuki while pursuing the Eye of the Moon Plan, and Naruto and the others kept his true identity concealed to encourage him to reveal more. He then recounted Obito and Shisui’s fight against Karatachi Yagura, which ended with them subduing the Three-Tails but unable to control it with genjutsu.

• Black Zetsu described how Obito used the injured Shisui to strengthen his position in the Akatsuki and carry out the Three-Tails operation without relying as much on Pain.
• Black Zetsu contrasted Pain’s plan to use the tailed beasts to force peace with Obito’s secret Eye of the Moon Plan.
• Naruto, the Nine-Tails, Minato, and the others recognized that Black Zetsu was concealing his own role, so they let him continue speaking.
• Black Zetsu said Obito and Shisui fought Karatachi Yagura in Kirigakure after Yagura learned Obito intended to capture him and prepared a trap.
• Obito and Shisui subdued Yagura and the Three-Tails, but the beast’s mental state made it difficult to control with genjutsu.

Black Zetsu explained how Obito planned to use the Akatsuki and the other great nations to destroy Konoha, beginning with an assassination attempt during the Chunin Ninja Exams. Minato revealed that he had already moved to secure the Land of Fire’s Daimyo and said Konoha had scheduled the Shinobi World Conference to confront the looming threat openly.

• Black Zetsu explained that Karatachi Yagura and the Three-Tails joined the Akatsuki after agreeing to cooperate with Obito.
• Black Zetsu described how Obito backed Orochimaru’s plan to assassinate the Third Hokage during the Chunin Ninja Exams and then cripple Konoha.
• Black Zetsu said Obito persuaded the other great nations to invade the Land of Fire, while its Daimyo remained unaware and wary of Konoha’s growth.
• Minato said he had sent Uchiha Itachi to make arrangements with the Land of Fire’s Daimyo and had brought other economies into Konoha to support its development.
• Minato said Konoha had scheduled the Shinobi World Conference for six months later to address the great nations’ plans directly.

Black Zetsu tried to mislead Konoha’s interrogators while explaining how Pain’s Rinnegan had caused the Three-Tails to submit. He left Minato and the others with a claim that the Three-Tails had mentioned the mysterious Ōtsutsuki clan.

• Minato suggested that the Three-Tails could explain what happened, prompting Black Zetsu to panic and reconsider what to reveal.
• Ibiki and Minato pressured Black Zetsu to tell the truth, threatening to verify his claims and bring him face-to-face with the tailed beasts.
• Black Zetsu admitted that Obito had controlled Karatachi Yagura, but claimed the Three-Tails had not been controlled by Obito.
• Black Zetsu said Pain’s Rinnegan caused the Three-Tails to stop fighting and submit, after which the Three-Tails reached an arrangement with Pain.
• Black Zetsu claimed he had heard the Three-Tails mention the Ōtsutsuki clan, which he described as connected to the origins of the Sage of Six Paths.

Black Zetsu tried to pass himself off as a minor accomplice, but Minato revealed that Konoha already knew his identity and ordered Ibiki to test sealing methods on him. Minato and Tobirama concluded that Black Zetsu’s Ōtsutsuki bloodline could explain how the tailed beasts were controlled.

• Black Zetsu planned to cooperate with Konoha and wait for a chance to resurrect Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
• Minato identified Black Zetsu as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki’s final contingency, leaving him stunned and despairing.
• Black Zetsu demanded to know who had revealed Kaguya’s name, while Minato said his explanation had answered Konoha’s remaining question.
• Minato ordered Ibiki to test sealing methods on Black Zetsu, who screamed as Minato left with Naruto.
• Minato told Naruto he had invented the supposed flaw in Black Zetsu’s story to torment him.
• Minato and Tobirama concluded that the Ōtsutsuki bloodline, rather than Pain’s Rinnegan, might have caused the tailed beasts’ reaction.

Kabuto monitored Orochimaru’s transformation in a cultivation chamber as Orochimaru attempted to evolve using his restored Original Body and a powerful nutrient solution. Uchiha Izumi arrived to summon Kabuto to meet the Leader.

• Orochimaru returned his consciousness to his damaged Original Body and began the evolution method provided by Reshape’s Leader.
• Kabuto recorded Orochimaru’s changes as the nutrient solution healed his scars and the body’s readings showed he was no longer human.
• Kabuto wondered whether Orochimaru’s transformation was progressing as planned and what Orochimaru would do if he reached humanity’s most perfect form.
• Uchiha Izumi entered the laboratory and told Kabuto that the Leader needed him.

Uchiha Izumi summoned Kabuto to Reshape's Leader, who assigned him the task of finding a way to revive Madara Uchiha. Meanwhile, Orochimaru's transformation began in the laboratory, and the Leader anticipated seeing how Madara would respond when revived.

• Uchiha Izumi took Kabuto from Orochimaru's laboratory to meet Reshape's Leader after Kabuto finished recording the experiment data.
• Orochimaru woke inside the culture tank, examined his transforming body, and wondered about its origins while accidentally tasting the nutrient solution.
• Kabuto reported that Orochimaru's first stage had begun and that the data looked normal, then listened as the Leader asked whether he intended to evolve too.
• Reshape's Leader ordered Kabuto to find a way to revive Madara Uchiha, and Kabuto felt overwhelmed by the Leader's trust in him.
• After Kabuto left, Reshape's Leader reflected that Kabuto had found Madara's body before and looked forward to seeing what choice Madara would make.

Several months after Konoha began inviting factions to its Shinobi World Conference, Hoshigakure's Natsuhi traveled toward Konoha with an elder and recalled how a Konoha boy's visit had ended in Acting Hoshikage Akahoshi's death. The boy also revealed the danger of Hoshigakure's Falling Star and destroyed it, leaving the village with its powder as a keepsake.

• Natsuhi escorted Hoshigakure's elder and travelers toward Konoha for the conference as they hurried along a rain-threatened road.
• The elder recalled how Hoshigakure had long remained isolated while some villagers dreamed of challenging the Five Great Nations with the Mysterious Peacock Method.
• After a Konoha boy casually delivered an invitation, Acting Hoshikage Akahoshi challenged him and died after failing to withstand the boy's punches.
• The Konoha boy examined the Falling Star and explained that its extraterrestrial material harmed the body and that Hoshigakure's technique relied on it.
• The boy crushed the Falling Star into powder and returned it to Hoshigakure in a jar as a memento.

After Naruto Uzumaki destroyed the Falling Star and invited Hoshigakure to a Konoha conference, Natsuhi accepted and traveled toward Konoha to learn about the wider shinobi world. On the journey, she listened to Land of Bears nobles discuss Konoha’s recovery, and one noble introduced Mr. Lo as an expert who had fought in the Third Shinobi World War.

• Naruto Uzumaki stayed in Hoshigakure through the Acting Hoshikage’s funeral, invited Natsuhi to the Konoha conference, and taught the village children basic ninjutsu before departing.
• Natsuhi learned Naruto’s identity from intelligence gathered in the Land of Bears and began studying the shinobi world’s power structure.
• Natsuhi gathered several Hoshigakure veterans and traveled toward Konoha with a group of Land of Bears nobles who had posted a mission.
• The nobles recalled how war had devastated the Land of Fire and remarked on the roads, missions, and recovery they saw on their journey.
• A noble addressed as Mr. Lo challenged the others’ focus on the past, and they introduced him as an expert who had taken part in the Third Shinobi World War.

Mr. Lo explained the legends of Konoha’s Hokage to the Hoshigakure group as they traveled, but a mysterious ball of lightning struck and swallowed them. In Konoha, Jiraiya briefed several jonin on strange disappearances linked to loud noises, leaving the cause unexplained.

• Mr. Lo told the Hoshigakure youngsters that Minato’s reputation had made enemies surrender and warned them to judge strange reports for themselves.
• A thunderclap sounded, and Ito returned in panic, warning the group that something was coming.
• A dazzling ball of lightning rushed toward Natsuhi and the others and swallowed the entire group.
• Jiraiya told several jonin that nearby villages had reported disappearances following loud noises, after which the missing people returned or were found elsewhere with no memory of vanishing.

Jiraiya investigated widespread disappearances of ordinary people across the Shinobi World and suspected the cases might be connected to a larger plot. He assigned Naruto to investigate, and Kakashi volunteered to notify him.

• An intelligence Ninja reported that disappearances had occurred across many countries, with victims returning after a short time and remembering nothing unusual.
• Jiraiya and the jonin considered possible motives and suspects, including intimidation ahead of the Shinobi World Conference and the organization Reshape.
• Jiraiya judged the investigation serious enough to require an A-rank Ninja and asked the jonin to recommend someone.
• Kakashi recommended Naruto because he could travel quickly between countries and might encounter Reshape during his ongoing search for tailed beasts and jinchūriki.
• Jiraiya approved Naruto for the investigation, and Kakashi offered to notify him.

Kakashi reunited with Naruto at Ichiraku Ramen, where Naruto introduced him to friends gathered in Konoha for the Shinobi World Conference. After hearing about Shikamaru's recent work as acting captain, Kakashi asked what had happened to Asuma.

• Kakashi arrived at Ichiraku Ramen and greeted Naruto and his traveling companions.
• Naruto explained that Kurama accompanied him on his travels, and Kakashi invited the group to help with an investigation.
• Naruto arranged for Kakashi to pay for everyone's ramen as they caught up.
• Naruto said Hinata and his family were away, so he had gathered the friends still in Konoha.
• Ino and Naruto teased each other while Shikamaru explained that his squad had been busy with missions and was preparing to welcome visitors from Sunagakure.
• Kakashi asked Shikamaru what had happened to Asuma after learning Shikamaru had served as acting captain.

Shikamaru told Kakashi that the new Daimyo wanted to reorganize the Twelve Guardian Ninja, prompting Kakashi to recall how Guy had misled him about Asuma’s argument with the Third and Kurenai. Kakashi explained the Guardian Ninja’s history to Naruto, ending with the factional conflict that had split the group.

• Shikamaru told Kakashi that the new Daimyo had asked Konoha to provide twelve candidates, but the village had rejected the request and Asuma had gone to discuss it with Master Chiriku.
• Kakashi recalled Guy warning him about Asuma’s argument with the Third and Kurenai, and Guy claimed Tsunade thought Asuma had premarital depression.
• Kakashi remembered reading Tsunade’s book about premarital depression and realizing that he had misunderstood the situation and awkwardly comforted Kurenai.
• Kakashi explained to Naruto that the Twelve Guardian Ninja had been an elite unit tasked with protecting the Daimyo.
• Kakashi described how Kazuma’s Radicals sought to destroy Konoha and put its forces under the Daimyo, leading to a deadly conflict with Asuma’s faction.

After learning that the Fire Temple’s monks had disappeared, Naruto, Kakashi, and Shikamaru arrived to assist Asuma, who had been delayed by the Daimyo’s investigators. The masked unit’s leader challenged Naruto’s manner of speaking and ordered a subordinate to cut off his hand, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Kakashi explained the former Twelve Guardian Ninja and asked Naruto to investigate suspicious disappearances during his travels.
• An intelligence Ninja told Kakashi and Naruto that everyone at the Fire Temple had disappeared.
• Asuma waited outside the deserted temple while a Daimyo-appointed Samurai unit blocked his investigation.
• Naruto, Kakashi, and Shikamaru arrived, and the masked unit’s leader warned his men to watch Kakashi.
• The masked leader rebuked Naruto for how he referred to the Daimyo and ordered a subordinate to cut off Naruto’s hand.

Naruto swiftly defeated Beizi and the samurai who attacked him, while Asuma identified Beizi as a presumed-dead former comrade. At the Fire Daimyo Mansion, the new Daimyo demanded a plan to stop Konoha’s conference and ordered an elderly official—who was his father—to commit seppuku.

• A samurai tried to cut Naruto’s hand, but Naruto disarmed Beizi and Asuma recognized him as a former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
• Kakashi ordered Naruto to subdue Beizi, and Naruto knocked him unconscious before defeating the surrounding samurai.
• Asuma marveled at Naruto’s strength, while Shikamaru said he was glad Naruto was on Konoha’s side.
• The new Daimyo demanded that his officials devise a way to stop Konoha’s Shinobi World Conference and accused Alude of supporting Konoha.
• An elderly official began explaining the conference’s influence, but the new Daimyo sentenced him to seppuku and learned he was the official’s son.

Naruto and Shikamaru searched the abandoned Fire Temple and discovered graves belonging to four members of the Land of Fire's Twelve Guardian Ninja. Meanwhile, Kakashi and Asuma questioned the revived Beizi, who denied involvement in the Fire Temple's disappearance but refused to explain his condition.

• Kakashi and Asuma questioned Kitashita and the samurai squad while Naruto and Shikamaru searched the temple.
• Shikamaru stopped Naruto from using Shadow Clones carelessly and showed him graves that appeared to have been tended until at least a week earlier.
• Shikamaru identified four gravestones as belonging to Beizi, Nango, Saito, and Tōu of the Land of Fire's Twelve Guardian Ninja.
• Beizi woke and admitted Naruto had defeated him before he could see the attack.
• Beizi refused to answer questions about who controlled or summoned him, but denied involvement in Chiriku and the Fire Temple members' disappearance.

Naruto and the others concluded that the new Daimyo was likely connected to Beizi’s resurrection and decided to investigate him in the Land of Fire. After Naruto transported Beizi and the samurai to Konoha, Kurama woke and sensed his own presence outside.

• Kakashi, Asuma, Shikamaru, and Naruto compared the clues and noted that Beizi’s resurrection and the Fire Temple disappearances might be separate incidents.
• Shikamaru reasoned that the new Daimyo was suspicious, and Naruto decided the team should go investigate him.
• Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique to transport Beizi and the samurai away from the Fire Temple, sending the samurai to a cell in Konoha.
• Kurama woke inside Naruto and wondered why he could sense his own presence outside.

Naruto learned from Kurama that someone at the Fire Temple carried some of his chakra, offering a lead in the disappearances, but Kurama fell asleep before he could help track it. As Naruto, Kakashi, Asuma, and Shikamaru continued toward the Daimyo Mansion, he also explained that he had contacted nearly all the remaining jinchūriki and planned to invite them to Konoha.

• Kurama woke and told Naruto that someone at the Fire Temple carried some of his chakra, which Naruto passed on to Kakashi, Asuma, and Shikamaru as a possible lead.
• Asuma sent Naruto and Shikamaru to investigate the missing Fire Temple members while he and Kakashi headed for the Daimyo Mansion, but Kurama fell asleep again before helping Naruto track the presence.
• The narration explained that Kurama had been sleeping to avoid Naruto's meetings and paperwork, though he occasionally woke to check Naruto's progress in locating the remaining jinchūriki and tailed beasts.
• Kakashi estimated that the group would reach the Daimyo Mansion that afternoon, and Asuma checked that Shikamaru's team assignment was covered while they handled the mission.
• Naruto told Asuma that he had contacted all the remaining jinchūriki except Kumogakure's Eight-Tails and had planned to travel to the Land of Lightning before the Fire Temple mission arose.

Kabuto searched a vast battlefield for Madara Uchiha’s remains so he could use Impure World Reincarnation, while reflecting on his place in the Reshape Organization. He detected a hollow space underground, where a terrified boy was fleeing a pale aura that red chakra kept at bay.

• A boy ran blindly through a dark cavern, remembering Master Chiriku, Master Chen Ming, and Master Luo Ze before recalling their deaths and panicking.
• A pale aura followed the boy and nearly reached him, but flashes of red chakra forced it to keep its distance.
• Kabuto dug through graves with a shovel because he had nearly exhausted his chakra while searching for a suitable body to revive Madara Uchiha.
• Kabuto reflected on his loyalty to Orochimaru and how the Leader’s mission had kept him too busy to dwell on his own identity.
• Kabuto probed the battlefield with Earth Release and noticed a hollow space underground.

Kakashi, Asuma, Naruto, and Shikamaru were screened at the remodeled Daimyo Mansion, where hidden observers monitored them. Mu Mu Zengsheng secretly sought their help against an impostor Daimyo, and the chapter ended as a samurai confronting him suddenly became unable to move.

• Kakashi and Asuma noticed the mansion's unusual security while Naruto and Shikamaru waited in a guest room.
• Hidden watchers above the room listened to the Konoha team's conversation and discussed their orders to monitor a special target.
• Mu Mu Zengsheng arrived, greeted Naruto enthusiastically, and slipped something into his hand as Kakashi signaled and quietly left.
• Asuma recognized Mu Mu's fear, while Mu Mu tried to hint that he needed help and the servants and guards reacted nervously to his arrival.
• Mu Mu's thoughts revealed that the new Daimyo was likely an impostor who had purged opponents and forced officials into submission.
• Samurai arrived to take Mu Mu away, but their leader suddenly stiffened and found he could no longer move.

Shikamaru immobilized a samurai at the Daimyo Mansion while Naruto accompanied Mu Mu Zengsheng to confront the new Daimyo. The Daimyo revealed his plan to destroy Konoha and attacked Naruto, sending him crashing into a wall.

• Shikamaru used the Shadow Imitation Technique to immobilize a samurai as guards gathered around him and Mu Mu Zengsheng.
• The new Daimyo told a dark monster that he planned to seize control of the Daimyo Mansion and march on Konoha.
• Naruto entered the new Daimyo's hall with Mu Mu Zengsheng and sensed multiple kinds of chakra inside the Daimyo.
• The new Daimyo mistook Mu Mu Zengsheng for a betrayer, grew into a giant, and kicked Naruto into a wall.

Naruto fought the Fake Daimyo, whose immense strength and strange chakra suggested he was linked to a tailed beast. The Fake Daimyo revealed that a masked creature called the Zero-Tails was inside him.

• Naruto survived the Fake Daimyo’s attack and kicked him into a wall, but the Fake Daimyo emerged unharmed.
• The Fake Daimyo offered Naruto a chance to serve him, then unleashed a powerful blue aura and challenged him to fight.
• Mu Mu Zengsheng panicked, yelled for help, and passed out after falling headfirst to the floor.
• Naruto activated Fox Sage Mode and fought the Fake Daimyo while studying the strange chakra flowing through his body.
• Naruto asked if the Fake Daimyo was the Eight-Tails’ jinchūriki, but the Fake Daimyo said he was close and identified the creature inside him as the Zero-Tails.

Naruto fought the Fake Daimyo and Zero-Tails, then revealed True Six Paths Mode after being driven into a dangerous corner. He defeated their combined attack, but Zero-Tails misunderstood his intentions just as Shikamaru arrived.

• Naruto recognized Zero-Tails emerging from the Fake Daimyo and tried to wake Kurama while fighting them.
• The Fake Daimyo and Zero-Tails coordinated a punch and dark chakra sphere that overwhelmed Naruto's Fox Sage Mode.
• Asuma and Shikamaru fought the mansion guards while Kakashi dealt with enemies above them, and an explosion shook the mansion.
• Naruto entered True Six Paths Mode, summoned Truth-Seeking Orbs, and pierced both the Fake Daimyo and Zero-Tails with one.
• Naruto reassured the wounded Zero-Tails, which mistook his concern for lust, and Shikamaru arrived.

Asuma and Kakashi defeated the guards at the Daimyo Mansion and discovered that Kazuma, a former Guardian Ninja, had been impersonating the new Daimyo, who was already dead. Naruto’s clone reported the crisis to Jiraiya, who called for Minato after recalling his plan to weaken the Daimyo’s power.

• Asuma and Kakashi finished subduing the guards, including revived former Guardian Ninja, while one woman escaped.
• Kazuma was thrown from the mansion during Naruto’s fight, and Asuma identified him as the former leader of the Radicals among the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
• Naruto’s clone returned to Konoha and told Jiraiya that Kazuma had impersonated the new Daimyo and that the real Daimyo had been dead for days.
• Naruto used Flying Thunder God to fetch Minato after Jiraiya asked him to come.
• Jiraiya recalled Minato’s plan to strip the Daimyo of real power and free the Land of Fire from its aristocratic system.

Minato explained to Jiraiya his plan to make Konoha an independent power by separating ninja villages from the nations that funded them, beginning with the removal of the Land of Fire's daimyo from public life. He also revealed his fear that future generations would fight over the tailed beasts, and the chapter ended with him seeking to make Konoha a home the Nine-Tails would accept.

• Minato told Jiraiya he wanted to separate ninja villages from their nations and establish independent trade, using the daimyo's disappearance to show people how little they depended on him.
• Minato explained that he would keep the capital's bureaucracy running, let the people choose a new daimyo with limited power, and give Konoha time to develop before announcing its new position at a Shinobi World Conference.
• Minato told Jiraiya he worried that the tailed beasts' endless lives and growing strength would eventually provoke a hidden struggle to capture them.
• Jiraiya supported Minato, who notified Itachi and the Third and began negotiations with powers that had reached out to Konoha.
• Minato's goal remained to make Konoha an independent, welcoming home that the Nine-Tails would accept.